Birth of the seaside

If we must have frequent Impressionist exhibitions, and it’s clear from the public’s insatiable appetite for them that we must, then at least let’s have good ones. The current show at the Academy is a well-conceived and enjoyable expedition into a theme. All too often themed shows seem forced — the art selected to illustrate an idea, rather than the idea helping us to focus on key works of art. Impressionists by the Sea is both interesting and revealing, and it includes a good percentage of high-quality art into the bargain. An excellent show for those who prefer the idea of the seaside to the actuality of overcrowded or rain-despoiled beaches.

The exhibition transports us to the northern coastline of France, to those Normandy fishing villages like Deauville and Trouville which suddenly became fashionable tourist destinations in the 1860s and 1870s. Before 1830, only Dieppe was a resort, a kind of continental Brighton for the beau monde on both sides of the Channel.